For fear of seeing their requests for asylum rejected, more and more Muslim Syrian refugees are renouncing their religion, regrets the journalist Nidal Hlaif in the daily newspaper Trud: "During my visits to the refugee camps, I've noticed Syrian refugees carrying large crosses in an ostentatious fashion, because they think this will gain them understanding, sympathy and more privileges. Some Muslim refugees have stopped praying and fasting because they're afraid they'll be taken for Islamists and their asylum applications will be rejected. Others make an effort to demonstrate their secular lifestyles, drinking alcohol and frequenting prostitutes. It's also interesting to note that, when asked, a majority of the refugees claim to be fleeing Daesh [Islamic State] even though the terrorist group has never been reported as active in the region they come from. This can be explained from the fact that they think they will be welcomed more readily in Europe if they claim to be victims of Daesh rather than the Syrian regime."